I will bring my late husband’s ashes home – Dr. Padma Lal

“We will bring the late Professor Brij Lal’s ashes home.”

These are the words of Dr. Padma Lal, the wife of Professor Brij Lal, who says all they are requesting is to bring her husband’s ashes to Fiji.

Speaking to fijivillage from Australia, Dr. Lal says even if it takes weeks or months, she will keep her late husband’s ashes and bring them to his home in Labasa.

Dr. Lal says she is hoping that she will live to ensure this happens. Dr. Lal says all she wants to do is to fulfill her late husband's last wishes to return to his beloved Tabia cane fields.

Dr. Lal says if she does not live to see through this, her children have vowed to see through their dad's wishes.

Dr. Lal says the family is aware from media reports that the National Federation Party’s request to raise a motion in next week's Parliament session for the family to bring the late Lal’s ashes home has been disallowed.

Meanwhile, the NFP says the Speaker of Parliament has disallowed them to move a motion requesting that Professor Brij Lal’s family be allowed to bring his ashes to Fiji for interment.

General Secretary, Seni Nabou says this was done on the basis that the motion will interfere with the mandate of the government.

Nabou says NFP had given notice to Parliament that it intended to move a motion in next week’s sitting that Parliament pays tribute to Fiji’s finest and internationally acclaimed scholar, Professor Brij Lal and agrees that the ban on entering Fiji placed on Professor Lal’s wife, Dr Padma Narsey Lal be rescinded immediately by the Department of Immigration to enable her and her children to bring Professor Lal’s ashes to his land and place of birth for interment. Nabou says two days before the Business Committee meeting on Thursday, the Parliamentary Secretariat advised NFP that this motion could not be accepted because of separation of powers.

She says the NFP was that that the Speaker has ruled on numerous occasions that under the doctrine of separation of powers, Parliament is supposed to make laws and Government is supposed to uphold the law to make it work and as such Parliament cannot interfere with policy implementation by the Government and its statutory bodies.

NFP’s General Secretary adds they were also told that their motion is out of order as it will create rise to debate which would purportedly interfere with the mandate of the Government.

She says NFP’s questions and motions are repeatedly ruled out of order because of the so-called separation of powers.

Nabou further says one of Parliament’s jobs is to keep a check on the actions of the Government but now the Opposition is being told that the things it wants to say will interfere with the mandate of the Government.

We are trying to speak to the Speaker of Parliament, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

We have also sent questions to the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Immigration, Yogesh Karan on why Dr. Padma Lal remains banned from entering Fiji and whether they will review the decision for her to bring her late husband’s ashes to Fiji.